A Champion, Swordsman, Sorceror and a Hero
by Camilla Webb
Summary: The Celtic Gods, long since forgotten by the modern world, fell when Rome rose or so was thought...they still stand strong, their children still stand strong, for now. A great evil is rising from the West. Fallen Gods are rising. Where does that leave their children? Who will rise champion? Who will become the hero?
1. Glossary

_Glossary:_

_Badb: Goddess of War, a part of the Morrigna with her sisters **Macha** and **Morrigan**._

_Belenus: God of Healing and Light._

_Beltane: A celebration for Belenus, it takes place on the 30 April and goes on to the 1 May, it normally includes a large bonfire and a visit from Belenus._

_Brigid: Goddess of Poetry, Martial Arts and Fire._

_Brigid's Well: A well filled with magical healing, but fowl tasting, water._

_Celtic Water: The holy Celtic water holds healing properties similar to Nectar used by the Romans and Greek but is a fowl tasting liquid._

_Camp Anam: 'Anam' is the Gaelic word for 'Soul'. The camp was named as such when Brigid was explaining the concept to some of the very first campers, explaining that they would find their soul at the camp and the name stuck._

_Dagda: Previous leader of the Gods. God of Wisdom, Magic and Sky. 'Died' ten years previous to current events._

_Dobhriste Iron: 'Dobhriste' is the Gaelic for unbreakable, the Celts went on strong into the Iron Age, using mostly iron or steel weapons. It is a rare metal, mined by **Pecks**._

_Kelpie: A horse-like creature with seaweed running through it's mane and salt water dripping from it's coat. Sometimes they pretend to be high school students, posing as young women._

_Lir: Son of the original Sea God, God of the Sea and Healing._

_Lugus (Lugh): "Little God", God of Skill and the Distribution of Talent. Current leader of the Gods._

_Macha: Goddess of Horses, member of the Morrigna._

_Merrows: Beautiful mermaid-like women, loyal to Lir, God of the Sea._

_Morrigan: The Phantom Queen, she has no children. Member of the Morrigna._

_Morrigna: a trio of War Goddesses, together they can become a sort of Goddess of Death._

_Pecks: Short, but strong, gnome-like creatures. They are incredibly strong and have an incurable love for Belgium chocolate and work in the mines for the Camp in exchange for chocolate._


	2. Chapter 1

Rough stone walls rose, the only light in the cave came from flames dancing and flickering midair running across the walls. Even the light that should have shone through the entrance to the cave was stunted, stopped by some invisible force from creeping onto the smooth floor.

Lugus sat at the end of the table, his large round green eyes scanning the room, with him sat at fifteen others. At the head of the table there sat a woman, opposing Lugus, her thick red hair tumbled down her back and ended in soft curls, she was tapping a rhythm out with scarlet manicured nails.

"We are beginning without him!" the woman snapped, her amber eyes flashing dangerously. "Lir is never on time, we cannot wait any-" But before she could finish her sentence a young man came thundering through the door, his short white-blonde hair was dripping with salt water. He swiftly took his seat on the left hand side of Lugus.

"As you were saying, Badb," Lugus flashed a smirk down the table at Badb who scowled in return, "My fellow Gods and Goddesses, we are here to discuss the possibility of…" he trailed off, shooting Badb a look that said 'Is this the only way?' The look she returned only confirmed it. "War," he concluded with gritted teeth.

"We cannot fight a war!" a red-haired man exclaimed, his grey eyes clouded with worry.

A woman with smooth, and straight, blonde hair that was entwined with the most beautiful and enticing of flowers, insisted, "We have not had need to even raise from our seats for a hundred years, Lugus!"

"The demigods do not know how to fight a war! " a young woman snapped, her eyes flaring.

Badb slammed her pale fist into the rough stone table, a small cloud of dust rising from the dip where her fist had landed, "Silence! Our children have been trained in our Celtic ways for many centuries, Brigid," she flashed a look of disdain to the young woman with very short and choppy auburn hair who had spoken last. "You of all people should know that, your children very nearly rival my own for battle skills!"

Brigid look pleased with herself, as though the snarling Badb had just given her a compliment of the highest order.

Lugus took a deep breath and placed his hands on the table, "Dagda has contacted me."

A silence fell across the room, the last whispers bouncing off of the cave-like walls.

"Dagda?" Brigid asked, a flicker of fear passing through her blue eyes, "He is dead."

Lugus gave a soft laugh and shook his head, his hands dragging across the table and falling to his sides. A long golden spear materialized in his hand, he gave it a light tap on the ground and the cave walls around the Gods and Goddesses fell away, slowly replacing itself with a lush clearing in the middle of a forest. Oak trees loomed over the remaining stone table casting shadows that danced across the emerald grass. The small white-petaled flowers materializing before their eyes.

Lir spoke up, the young man having not spoken since arriving in the room soaking wet, "Where is he? Lugus…this is not a lie, is it?"

"I resent the accusation," Lugus narrowed his eyes at the man wearing a loose blue shirt and denim trousers. "He will arrive given time."

"Good," Lir let out a nervous chuckle, spying the dangerous look in Lugus' eyes, "I have matters to attend to in the west…the Merrows say there is a ship steadily approaching, not a mortal boat."

A deep voice, like the sound of rumbling thunder, roaring, "The Merrows would be correct, Manannán mac Lir. A great danger is headed for the Gods, a trust will be tried, a prophecy spoken and a hero will rise from the twist of Aerten."

The voice had no set place, it echoed and ricocheted off of the trees, Lugus spoke up, a respect in his eyes and voice that had not been there before when he was speaking with the other gods and goddesses, "Dagda, Aerten has…been difficult recently, she has not came to our meetings nor has she spoken with her children."

Then the voice of Dagda let out something that resembled a bout of laughter, "Then a quest must be had! To retrieve the Goddess of Fate!"

* * *

Oliver Lee Cohen sat on the nurse's bed, the nurse being a daughter of Belenus. She was a close friend of Oliver's and felt particularly responsible for the large gash spilling blood down his forehead, trickling down his cheek and dripping onto his turquoise camp top with the words "Camp Anam". His red hair was now stained scarlet and matted with blood on the left side.

He peered down the room of occupied beds, searching the sea of faces trying to find his friend, eventually his eyes fell upon her. She was hunched over searching through a wooden cabinet at the end of the room, her black hair continually falling into her face and she muttered under her breath something that Oliver could not quite catch from this distance but sounded like, "Lousy kids of Lir coming in here and thinkin' they know what to do with that medicine, took us forever to get it." Oliver let out a small chuckle, a smile playing across his lips. Lir, God of the Sea, was a minor healing God but was nothing compared to Belenus.

Oliver raised a hand tentatively to touch the cut, the sword that had sliced through his head was Dobhriste Iron, a very rare metal that was able to slay monsters like a normal sword would slay a man, or a demigod in this case.

"Oi!" he heard a sharp and stern voice and looked up to see her standing above him, one hand on her hip and the other clutching a wooden box, "I said no touching!" She leaned over and slapped his hand away from his head, "You'll get it infected, Oliver, Gods know where your hands've been!"

Oliver pulled a face of mock hurt, "You're breaking my heart, doll."

"You're lucky I never broke your skull with that swing of mine," she jested, a smile spreading across her lips as she pulled out a bottle of water and handed it to Oliver who let out a groan and wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"Charlie Fletcher!" Oliver exclaimed, "You cannot make me drink this wretched water!"

Charlie narrowed her blue-grey eyes and let out a little chuckle as Oliver unscrewed the cap and took a swig of the water and his face contorted. It was the most vile thing to drink, and Charlie knew it in fact every demigod at Camp Anam knew it. Oliver stared up at the teenager with a look of disdain, he could still taste the bile-like water in the back of his throat, but even as the taste lingered the slash on his head began to close and he let out a sigh of relief as the pain ebbed away as well.

"Sorted, bucko?" Charlie asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yes, sir!" Oliver saluted with a smirk. "You got a cloth in that magic box of yours?" he asked, gesturing to the wooden box being held under her arm.

With a nod she threw a worn blue cloth at him and he bobbed his head with thanks and started to wipe away the blood from his head and face. Charlie was still staring at him as though he had just been beheaded, he looked up at her tilting his head to one side.

"Your fifth shirt this week," she noted, raising a slight finger to the blood-stained once turquoise shirt. "Cuhullin's going to start charging you for those things, Oliver."

Oliver snorted. "Yeah, and kelpies are sweet, angelic ponies."

Cuhullin was the Camp Counsellor, a middle-aged looking demigod. He had a shock of shoulder length white hair and a scruffy goatee and always wore bright and colourful waist coasts and pin-striped trousers, his face was always set in a scowl. Many years ago when he was at death's door he met with Aerten, Goddess of Fate, and she gave him a choice. He could either go into Otherworld and live out eternity with the Gods and other heroes or stay in the mortal realm amongst other demigods, training them to fight, and he would, after committing the 'Selfless Deed', be free to live immortally in the mortal world.

"Watch your mouth, Cohen!" a raspy voice behind him warned, Oliver turned to spy Cuhullin.

"Brother!" Oliver beamed at him, scrambling across the bed and staggering to his feet, his vision blurring slightly from the water.

Cuhullin sighed. "I may be your brother, child, but you are not my friend."

Charlie snickered from the bedside as she picked up the half empty water bottle and threw it to Oliver who missed it and let it fall through his hands only to be caught by Cuhullin who studied the label.

"This comes from Brigid's well?" he raised an eyebrow as he read, then furrowed them, "Shouldn't we save that for more...important injuries."

Oliver laughed. "You mean like yourself?"

Cuhullin shot him a glare, if looks could kill then Oliver would have been slaughtered.

"Anyway, I'm not in here to discuss the water," he looked around the infirmary and let out a low, throaty cough and the whole room fell silent and all eyes were trained on Cuhullin now. "There is to be a Camp meeting tonight, as you know, it is the 30th of April and on this night we shall be burning the old and coming in with the new! The light of Belenus shall guide us forth into Summer!"

A huge roar of applause erupted in the infirmary, mostly children of Belenus as they continued giving their patients medication or strapping on bandages. Oliver rolled his eyes, but inside he felt a flurry of excitement in his stomach. After Beltane came Midsummer then it was Lughnasadh. It was the celebration of his father, Lugus the leader of the Gods. He hardly ever saw his father and cherished every moment with him.

"Here's your water, Cohen," Cuhullin thrust the bottle into the unsteady hands of Oliver who blinked in surprise, "Make sure you're on time tonight." he then turned to Charlie and raised a finger, pointing directly to her, "Make sure your whole team's on time tonight."

Jeez! The guy just couldn't let it go that their Clan wasn't the fastest at getting prepared.

And as though she read his mind, and as soon as Cuhullin was out of earshot she let out a laugh, "We've got to get there first tonight, my dad might be showing up! I know it's selfish but...I don't get to see him much."

Oliver nodded reassuringly, he understood. Not many of the demigods got to see their Godly family very often.

"We'll be the ones setting the fire this Beltane, Charlie, don't worry about it," he winked.


End file.
